1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to methods and kits for professional development and training of participants, more particularly, to methods and kits for professional development and training which incorporate video segments and written materials to provide virtual field experiences to participants to accelerate professional development.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, in many professional fields, instruction and development of participants, for example, novice participants, often requires the participants to view master practitioners in action. By doing so, the participants can observe the practical use of theoretical and/or academic techniques by master practitioners in the relevant field. For example, in the educational training field, in particular the professional development of elementary, middle-level, and secondary school teachers and teachers-in-training, actual field observation of master teachers is typically a requisite part of the curriculum for many certified teacher training programs.
Notwithstanding the obvious benefits to participants that result from such observation, live field experiences still have several drawbacks. For example, the physical presence aspect can be disadvantageous and inconvenient to a participant due to the fact that the participant must travel to and from a particular setting to observe the master practitioner in person. Furthermore, the participant may be limited in terms of access to diverse field experiences encompassing, for example, different environments or settings, diverse student demographics, varying subject matter or content area, and/or different master practitioners. Even more, the presence of the participant may sometimes remove some of the authenticity of the field experience based on the fact that the master practitioner and/or others may be distracted because of the presence of the participant. Moreover, the participant may be a novice in the relevant professional field and, accordingly, is generally unable to see and understand professional techniques being used by a master practitioner. A novice participant also typically lacks the professional vocabulary and know-how to discuss what he/she has seen during the field experience. Also, even when a participant observing a master practitioner in a field experience is able to pick up on the practical application of some theoretical techniques, much of the master practitioner's methods and applications of essential principles can often be lost because the participant is unable to “get into the head” of the master practitioner during the field experience.
What is needed then are improved and more readily available methods and materials to accelerate professional development of participants in a given field while also increasing the participants' depth and breadth of understanding in the given field.